BALENCIAGA’s autumn-winter 2025 show was staged within a maze. With the audience in very close proximity to the clothes and the models walking a catwalk with bright, harsh lights, the clothes were open to immediate scrutiny.
Opening with four businesswear looks, a navy suit was purposefully crinkled in a way that was reminiscent of Prada’s spring 1998 and spring 2023 collections. This distressed detail was developed with a moth-eaten grey pinstripe suit and broken buttons on a beige cashmere coat. Later on in the show jeans were cast in resin so that the crinkles were permanently fixed.
The collection was missing some of the classic Balenciaga codes that we have come to expect from creative director, Demna Gvasalia. For one, the shoulder pads were noticeably slimmed down compared to previous seasons. Speaking to reporters backstage he said, “Do I really want something that is pretending to be fashion because it grabs attention? Or do I want someone to tell me, ‘This is the best coat I’ve been wearing for the last five years?’’.
While the collection was less dramatic than previous ones, the move was intentional. Basing itself on the study of standard dress codes, the show focused on the skills of dressmaking to elevate ‘banal’ garments. For example, corset construction was added to shirts to develop their design.
Balenciaga collaborated with both Puma and Alpinestars to develop accessories for the collection. The house took the original 1999 design of the Puma Speedboat sneaker and reimagined it in worn-out suede. The partnership has also birthed technical sweatsuits and tracksuits emblazoned with Balenciaga’s iconography as well as a co-branded bag inspired by the bags used by kitesurfers, sailors and paragliders.
Continuing the partnership with Alpinestar, which originally started in summer 2024, they produced functional, protective racing gear such as gloves and motorbike helmets worn on the runway with studs and the logo posted across them.
Towards the middle of the collection, it became clear that Demna was taking inspiration from the typical, corporate office commuter. With wireframe glasses, reinvented briefcases and ‘tech or finance bro’ puffer jackets, it seemed he was responding to the rising tension towards corporate giants. There were references to 80s power dressing with big cashmere overcoats, but with the luxury market struggling at the moment perhaps he is trying to keep the brand financially successful rather than leaning into his classic but risky style of parody.
by Imogen Hipkin Holland